


Bartender

by autym73



Category: The Politician (TV 2019)
Genre: Bartender AU, How Do I Tag, Kittens, M/M, bartender!river, gaybois, musician!payton, payton loves cuddling you cannot convince me otherwise, soft!payton, soft!river, the politician - Freeform, they're both bi btw
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-22
Updated: 2019-12-22
Packaged: 2021-02-26 04:21:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,779
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21897349
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/autym73/pseuds/autym73
Summary: In which Payton pines hard.
Relationships: River Barkley/Payton Hobart
Comments: 6
Kudos: 141





	Bartender

**Author's Note:**

> Hey this is my first work posted to this site and i needed more of my babeys being in love. Some of the show is canon in it , some of it isnt, an example being that River and Payton didnt know each other before this fic. This is inspired by that one tumbr post wanting a bartender!river and musician!payton. Sorry if Payton and River are ooc this is my first time writing them.

Payton liked to think of himself as a hard working man. If he made a goal, he will reach it. When he gets a gig, he does his absolute best to entertain his audience or at least provide them with some decent music. He usually got gigs at bars, and worked at the coffee shop down the street from his apartment. The rent for it was absurdly priced given that it was a one bedroom apartment that only measured about 450 square feet. So much for that degree in politics. 

McAfee, James and Alice had all stayed in Santa Barbara, for various reasons. They had tried to keep in touch, but in the end they couldn’t help but drift apart. So Payton was stuck in New York City with no one. He got lonely often, which usually resulted in him writing stupid love songs or daydreaming about what would of happened if he contined with his plans for presidency. Would Alice be his first lady, or would he find someone else? Another platinum blond maybe? What would she look like? What if she was a different race? What about a sharp jaw and strong arms? Short, dark hair? Stubble?

It was these thoughts that brought Payton to the conclusion that he was bisexual.

He knows that he should've found out earlier, because it was quite obvious. Those butterflies he got in his stomach whenever he looked at the cute bartender should’ve been a dead giveaway. The way his heart raced when he would look at him and give him a small smile was very not heterosexual. The way he rolled up his sleeves perfectly complimented his forearms. Payton thinks about his forearms way too much. And his eyes. And his hair. And his chest. He just thinks about him in general way too much.

One night, he finds out that his name is River. River Barkley.

He thought the name sounded familiar, and looking back in his highschool yearbooks, he found out that they went to St. Sebastian. He was on the lacrosse team. That led Payton’s mind to thinking about him playing sports, working out, to working out shirtless; Payton blushed and erased the image from his head. His lack of sex is really getting to him.

He calls Georgina at least once a week. She’s the first person he comes out to, and expectedly supports him. He tells her about River. She tells him about Brigitte. They discuss how Martin and Luther have somehow not been arrested yet. They exchange their stories on how riches to rags is working out for them. Georgina gives him dating advice and encourages Payton to ask out River, which Payton never does. 

Payton’s become a regular at the bar. He’s booked at least three nights of the week. The manager says he’s a favorite amongst the regulars. She then says one of her workers really likes him, winks then walks away. 

River has gotten really distracting. Luckily, it hasn’t interfered with his performances. He notices River leaning on the counter, head propped up on his hand, watching his performance. Whenever he orders something at the bar, River says its on the house, gives him a smile, then takes the next order. It leaves him breathless each time. He tells Georgina about it the next time they talk. She laughs and says he’s in deep. That got Payton thinking again. Is it possible to love someone who you’ve barely talked to?

One day when Payton is working his morning shift at the coffee shop, he sees River step in.

He’s with a woman. 

That’s when it hit him. River’s probably straight. Isn’t that a thing in the Lgbt+ community? Always pinning over a straight person? Is that offensive? Payton hoped not. He’s very new to this.

River smiles at her in a way Payton had never seen him smile before. That must be his real smile then? Payton can feel his heart breaking. He didn’t know anything about River, did he? He decided to block out everything but work.

It hurts.

It hurts a lot.

He can’t help but stare longingly at River when he isn’t looking. No matter how hard he tries, no matter how hard he tries to focus on the task in front of him, River’s stupid smiles has etched its way into Payton’s mind at every opportunity it has. It was easier to think about River when he thought he might have a chance with him. Knowing that him and River are going to be nothing but two people who happen to work at the same bar occasionally made thinking about him painful.

He tells Georgina. She gives him the generic ‘there are other fish in the sea’ spiel. He says it helps, but it really doesn’t. 

One day, he finds a little kitten in one of the alleyways. He takes her home and names her Fluss (which definitely doesn’t mean river in German).

Fluss helps a lot to Payton’s surprise. He can rant to her and still feel like he’s being heard, even if she couldn't understand him. She helps him feel less lonely. She can tell when he’s feeling down. She’ll rub up against him or do a goofy thing to make Payton laugh. Sometimes he wonders if she knows what he’s thinking.

The next time he has a gig at the bar, he swears that he won’t look at River. He knows deep down that he will anyway. It’s not his fault that River is extremely attractive.

Once the bar had closed, the manager let Payton have a drink on the house. Which meant talking to River. He was about to refuse, but seeing River smile at him like that out of the corner of his eye forced him to take the offer. He sat down at the bar and was about to order before River interrupted him.

"Are you okay?”

Payton was taken aback. Out of all things for River to say right then, ‘are you okay’ was not one of them.

"Huh?” Payton replied dumbly.

“Are you okay?” River repeated. “You’ve been off the past two weeks. Your songs have been awfully sad. Break up?”

“Something like that.” Payton murmured.

River adverts his eyes and thinks for a moment. “So… your single?”

"I-I guess?” Another question Payton was not expecting. He observes River. He seems, flustered? Or embarrassed? No, he was nervous. That’s it.

He keeps his eyes away from Payton. “So, um. I was wondering if… you would…” He stops and lets out a laugh. “Sorry, I’m not used to being on this side of this…” He says.

Payton cocks his head to the side. “What do you mean?”

River smiles sheepishly. “Usually I’m the one who’s being asked out, not the other way around.”

It takes a few seconds for Payton to connect the dots. And when he did, he did not blush at all. He was speechless. All he could do was nod.

Then River gave him that damn smile that set his heart racing. He gently grabbed Payton’s hand and intertwined their fingers, and Payton swears his brain shuts down. River comes around to sit at the stool next to him. 

“Do you want to come back to my place? We can talk there,” River offers. 

Payton was able to snap out of his ‘hot boy touching me’ trance to say yes. River’s apartment was much larger than his, as his father didn’t disown him. River leads him to his balcony, sitting on a loveseat, beckoning Payton to sit next to him. River is still holding Payton’s hand as they exchange questions and answers. And no, Payton’s heart did not explode when he found out that River has had a crush on him since he started doing gigs at the bar.

A while passes, and Payton finds himself snuggled against River’s side with his arm around his waist. At this point, the two were quiet, just enjoying the sounds of the night and the presence of the other. Payton wasn’t sure if this was a dream or not. He hoped not. He felt River shift, turning to face Payton. He gently cups Payton’s cheek. He can feel himself melting.

“Can I kiss you?” River’s soft voice rings in Payton’s ears. He feels himself nodding.

River gently presses his lips onto Payton’s. It’s so soft, River’s lips on his. Payton wraps his arms around River’s neck, pulling them closer together. There’s so much emotion conveyed through this simple gesture, Payton feels like he’s going to cry.

Scratch that, he is.

River’s touch is so fucking gentle, so soft and so many other words that Payton cannot convey. He wants to stay in River’s arms forever, safe and protected. He feels River’s other hand on his waist, lightly squeezing every so often. His thumb is gently rubbing against his cheek. He was in euphoria.

River was the first to pull away. Payton opened his eyes, looking at River. He was breathless, looking at Payton with so much affection that his heart might explode again. River gently wipes away his tears, seeming to know why he was crying. River gently holds him, as the last of his tears fall.

"Do you want to go to bed?” River asks.

"Yes,” Payton replies, attempting to put himself together. River takes his hand and leads him to the bedroom. A king sized bed and a bed frame. It was much different from Payton’s twin mattress that was on the floor (bed frames cost a lot of money that Payton doesn’t have). River gives him a large sweater to put on and a pair of sweatpants. He showed Payton to the conjoined bathroom and let him change. The sweater was big on him, the end reaching his thighs. The sweatpants didn’t fit at all. They fell every time he took a step, so Payton resolved to just wear the sweater, no pants.

River didn’t mind at all. In fact, he seemed to be naked besides his boxers. But he was already in bed, so Payton wasn't completely sure.

"The pants didn’t fit.”

Rivers eyes dart to Payton’s bare legs, then back to his face. God dammit, he’s doing that smile again. He opens his arms, calling Payton to snuggle into them. And of course, Payton has to answer that call. River’s arms wrap around him, and Payton isn’t thinking about his very present muscles. He places them against the plush pillows, and Payton didn’t realize how shitty his pillows were until now.

“Goodnight, Payton.” River switches off the lights.

"Goodnight River.” Payton says, giving River a quick kiss before snuggling into his arms and falling asleep.


End file.
